The 2026 Global Conference on Urban Sustainable Development for World Cities Day was held in Shanghai. As a key academic supporter, Tongji SEM drew on its interdisciplinary strengths to lead the release of flagship research including the Shanghai Index. Tongji SEM co-hosted the Thematic Session on Ecological Livability and Green Transition, alongside supporting events: the Expert Seminar of International Organizations on Environment and Sustainable Development and the Roundtable Dialogue for Global Youth and International Organizations on Sustainability. Two reports were launched: Research Report on the Application of the Sustainable Development Index for Transparent Property Services and Application Report on Global Community Sustainable Development Practices. Two new initiatives, the International Training Programme on Leadership for Global Sustainable Development International Organizations and the Global Youth Initiative for Sustainable Development, were rolled out to advance ecological livability, green transition and community governance, delivering insights from Tongji SEM for high-quality urban development.

The Shanghai Index, an international public good under World Cities Day, is led by Tongji University. Dr. CHEN Haiyun from Tongji SEM heads the research team with partners including Shanghai University, Shanghai Meteorological Service, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Xinhua Index Research Institute. The newly released 2026 Shanghai Index Application Report: Scenarios and Solutions for Global Cities extends the framework from comprehensive assessment to targeted scenario analysis and solution design. After five years of research and pilots, Tongji University and UN-Habitat have established unified standards for the Index. Cities worldwide may select priority themes for streamlined sustainability evaluation to cut costs and boost resource efficiency. As Executive Director of Tongji’s Institute of International Organizations for Environment and Sustainable Development, Dr. CHEN also drafted the ecological environment chapter of the 2026 Shanghai Manual. He developed two Chinese case studies and co-designed international cases covering Asia and Latin America with UN-Habitat.

Research outputs from Tongji SEM go down to communities and property management, the smallest units of urban governance. The thematic session on November 3 featured addresses by ZHANG Xiaohong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai; WEI Jianguo, Former Vice Minister of Commerce; and YANG Jinlong, President of Tongji University and CAS Member. LÜ Peiming, Executive Vice President of Tongji University, presented appointment letters to distinguished experts. SHI Qian, Chairman of the School Council of Tongji SEM, presided over the launch of the two reports. The Sustainable Development Index for Transparent Property Services originates from Changbai New Village Subdistrict in Yangpu District, aligned with UN SDGs, to build a traceable assessment tool and rebuild community trust. The global community report, themed “Renewal for Livability”, contains 30 frontier cases across multiple regions, analyzing how spatial renewal, housing upgrading and optimized governance meet residents’ needs.

Distinguished speakers including Hans d’Orville, LIU Jian, Merri Madaschi and Nathan Hultman shared insights on green urban transition. Mayors and senior officials from the UK, Spain, France, Weihai and Pudong also presented local practices. Hosted by Tongji University and Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the conference was jointly organized by Tongji SEM, the Laboratory for High-Quality Urban Development and Planning Decision-Making, and the Institute of International Organizations for Environment and Sustainable Development. The follow-up roundtable brought together international organization representatives, mayors, scholars and industry practitioners to discuss multi-stakeholder collaboration. LIU Qianwei and LÜ Peiming delivered opening remarks, and WEI Jianguo gave the closing speech. The expert seminar explored joint development of international public goods and youth training mechanisms.

The newly launched training programme and youth initiative create a long-term platform for global practitioners and young advocates. The youth roundtable gathered UN experts and young participants to discuss sustainability challenges, youth engagement and university talent development.

Tongji SEM has long been a core academic contributor to World Cities Day. It integrates digitalization, green development and interdisciplinary collaboration to expand research and talent training boundaries. The Laboratory for High-Quality Urban Development and Planning Decision-Making, a national new liberal arts platform, combines economics, management and urban-related disciplines to apply digital technologies to urban issues. Going forward, Tongji SEM will continue to advance the “People-Centered Cities” vision, tackle real urban governance challenges, and share China’s experience of building innovative, livable, resilient and smart cities on this global stage.